Well, let me start off by saying that I had heard "Through the Fire and Flames" long before it became the over-played popular power metal song, so before Guitar Hero 3 got it's greasy mits onto it. This song was actually introduced to me by my good friend Nate, who had me listen to it mid 2006 when DragonForce's newest album had been released.

His idea was to have it used for a Fullmetal Alchemist video dedicated to Roy Mustang. The problem there was that FMA was not completely released yet on DVD and I knew I was going to have a hard time finding enough footage to fill a 7 minute video. So, that idea was stalled. Thanks to Nate, regardless, since he introduced me to DragonForce, and decided to use Fate/Stay Night as my footage for the video after I had completed Knights of Fate.

I started the project in July 2007, starting by editing the song down to 5:00, taking the video/radio edit as a guide. No one wants to see 7:00 of crazy footage to a crazy song. This was a full minute less than Knights of Fate, which I was happy to see. Sadly, a shorter video did not mean an easier task. Since the song is fairly fast paced throughout, I had to speed up clips and overlap my edits to fit the tone, so this ultimately led to more edits than any of my previous videos. As per usual, the video was completed just in time for Sakura-Con 2008's deadline, in which I was the final Action category entrant.

This was the first video I created on my new system. An AMD 64 X2 Dual 4600+ with 4 GB of PC2 6400RAM (3.25 GB Effectively with XP Pro SP2). I used After Effects CS3 exclusively, using Photoshop CS3 to support any transparencies I used for any stills. Footage/stills came from all Fate/Stay Night sources, to include the anime series, both PC games, even footage/stills from the PS2. I even wanted to use something from the upcoming arcade game Fate/Unlimited Codes, but couldn't find a clean enough video to warrant use in an AMV. Any fire/flames that didn't come from Video Copilot's tools were made in Particle Illusion, editing them as I saw fit for any scenes I felt needed a fire effect.

As far as the video's technical aspects, this is my first use of the MP4 format for AMV.org distribution, encoded at 1024x576 resolution. The XviD versions I fought with for this AMV.org entry were not clean enough, so viewers will need the CCCP Codec Pack. I recommend viewing anything with Media Player Classic, and it should run just fine. I will try to upload the best XviD version I can make, but I cannot guarantee it will do the video justice. As much as I'd love to, I cannot upload the 311 MB MPEG2 that I use for convention entries.

I may create a xvid version if people really want it. Just note the quality will suck and the size will be considerably larger.

Recently, I created an HD Version that has been posted on both youtube and megavideo. Check them out!

As usual, I tried to follow the lyrics and match the edits I added in appropriately. I used all 3 verses of the song, to include the choruses. The only thing I edited out of the song was the "ooooh, ooooh" portion in the middle of the long guitar solos. Speaking of which, I used the DVD that came with my Limited Edition of "Inhuman Rampage" to take the solos of guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman featured in the MV, and synced them with my edit. These guys are simply amazing and I wanted to show their talent in their playing to the viewers. Needless to say, I felt it added a nice touch during the semi-long guitar solo in the middle of the video. I even paid homage to Herman's Pac-Man sounds in the middle of the solo by drawing and editing in Saber eating Lancer, Rider and Gilgamesh.

Overall, I was very happy with how this video turned out. I give credit to my friend Nate for introducing me to DragonForce, and my girlfriend Yuki for helping me with some editing decisions and for once again being patient with me while I spent extra time on creating the video. Thanks again everyone!